Abandoned Parties & Good Resolutions
by joiedevivre2011
Summary: An abandoned New Year's Eve party, a chance encounter, accidental confessions, and New Year's resolutions. [one shot]


Just a one-shot I didn't quite have enough time to finish before midnight last night, but eh, it's okay, right? 'Cause we're still celebrating the new year!

Happy New Year to all. :)

* * *

"Doctor Isles?"

Soft golden curls swished around as the medical examiner whipped around quickly toward the source of the voice behind her. The dark-haired man looked familiar, but she didn't know his name, despite having seen him around the precinct as a beat cop. "Yes?" she asked timidly.

"Hey, um, do you remember me? Frankie Rizzoli? I'm a cop at BPD."

Fear suddenly rushed through Maura's veins. "I'm sorry, did I do something wrong?" She racked her brain trying to recall anything she could've done since leaving the party that would've warranted being stopped by an officer.

"Oh, no, you haven't. I just recognized you is all and wanted to say hey," he replied awkwardly, feeling suddenly uncomfortable for having called her out.

"Oh good." A sincere smile lit up her face and she felt her sour mood from the party begin to recede. "I've certainly seen you around the precinct, but we've never been properly introduced."

"Nah, we wouldn't have, but you've worked some cases with my older sister-"

"Jane Rizzoli," Maura finished for him. Her heart fluttered, flashing back to the encounters she'd had with the crass, but inarguably brilliant homicide detective. The woman had certainly caught the medical examiner's attention, but she'd quickly pushed all of those thoughts aside, for the most part.

"Yeah." Frankie chuckled. "Everybody knows Jane, even if they've never worked a case with her."

"I've worked two with her now," the blonde replied politely.

"Cool, cool." He cleared his throat. "So, are you heading to a party?"

"Just leaving one actually."

"But it's only 10:30?" His brow furrowed.

"It wasn't... _I_ didn't feel...comfortable, so I left."

Frankie nodded knowingly. "Some guy hit on you, didn't he?"

Blushing, Maura nodded and looked down, but didn't say anything.

"Well, if you didn't have anything else planned, you could head to the Dirty Robber with me? It's not fancy or anything," he said, taking stock of the knee-length black cocktail dress and high heels, covered by a white, unbuttoned trenchcoat, "and you'll definitely be the best dressed person in there, but it's warm and I can assure you no creepy guys will hit on you. I'll make sure of it personally. Jane's gonna be there too, so you'll at least know her."

"That's very sweet of you, Frankie," Maura said. "Are you sure it's not a bother? I would hate to-" She searched her brain for the right colloquialism. "-crash the party, I believe they say."

Frankie laughed. "Doctor Isles, you can't crash a party if you've been invited to it."

* * *

"Frankie! Heeeeeey!" Jane cheered, holding up her beer as her younger brother opened the door of the Dirty Robber. Quickly her expression turned to confusion. "And Doctor Isles?"

Approaching his sister at a booth several ones up, Frankie jerked his thumb in Maura's direction. "Found this one outside and convinced her to come here with me." He smiled at both of them and Maura finally joined at his side. "I'm gonna grab a beer. Doc, you want anything?"

"Thank you, Frankie. I'll get something in a little bit." Maura returned his smile.

As the younger Rizzoli turned to leave, Jane appraised the standing woman from head to toe. "You are _not_ dressed for a night at the Robber. Heading to another party?" she cocked an eyebrow and took a pull from her beer bottle.

"I was heading home from one actually. I wasn't really enjoying myself, so I politely excused myself and left." Despite the conversation, Maura felt awkward simply standing in front of the booth with Jane looking up at her from her seat.

"Some douche hit on you, huh?"

Just like with Frankie, Maura blushed. "Your brother asked that too."

"Yeah, well," Jane said, shrugging nonchalantly, "he learns his detecting skills from the best." She then grinned. "You wanna sit?" the detective offered, gesturing across the table booth. "This isn't nearly as fancy as the party you obviously came from, but it beats ringing in the new year all alone, right?"

"Fair point." After a pause, Maura asked, "This may be a silly question, but is there somewhere I could hang my coat?"

Jane pointed toward the coat stand tucked away in a corner close to the entrance. "And believe me, nobody's gonna mess with it around here."

Quietly Maura murmured her thanks and slid off her coat.

"Wow," Jane said, in awe, taking in the sight of the medical examiner in such a form-fitting dress.

When she caught the brunette's appraising eyes, she lifted an eyebrow.

"Oh god, I'm sorry," Jane instantly apologized. "I didn't mean…" She cleared her throat. "The dress just...suits you very well, Doctor Isles."

"Call me Maura, please. And thank you, it's Herve Leger. I feel very fortunate to have found this dress actually. It was a last minute purchase and this was the last one they had in stock. It just so happened to fit me perfectly."

"Sometimes it's meant to be," Jane replied vaguely.

With a smile, the blonde quietly said, "Excuse me for a few moments so I can hang this up and get a drink."

Jane nodded.

Though Maura was by no means a guesser, she swore she could feel the detective's gaze on her back. The straps crossing it were eye-catching she knew, and it would only be natural for the other woman to watch her as she walked away. Despite the situation and her assumed observer, Maura couldn't help but add a hint more sway to her hips as she walked away. After placing her coat on a hook, she turned around toward the bar, her gaze briefly crossed over Jane in her booth.

Watching her.

The second their eyes met, the detective glanced down, clearly embarrassed at having been caught staring.

Unlike the attention she'd received at the party, Maura silently welcomed whatever attention Jane clearly intended to give tonight, unprofessional as it could end up being in the long run.

* * *

On her second glass of wine and rounding half-past 11 o'clock, Maura was enjoying her conversation with Jane. Frankie had returned to the table briefly after they arrived, but then got swept away by some other younger cops on the force.

Frankie apologized for essentially abandoning her, but she assured him that it was fine, that she and Jane were enjoying themselves.

After laughing for what seemed the hundredth time tonight, Maura noticed Jane's suddenly serious expression. She looked curiously at the woman across the table.

"So that guy at the party. What did he say to you that made you want to leave?"

With a look of disdain at the thought of him, Maura answered, "He was heavily insistent that I dance with him and be his companion the rest of the evening. Whether or not he also meant in the biblical sense, I'm unsure, but his persistence just ruined the gathering for me, particularly after I rejected him for the third time. I then gave my apologies to the hosts, told them I suddenly wasn't feeling well, and left as quickly and quietly as possible."

Jane scoffed. "Why do guys have to be such assholes?"

"That's a bit more colorful language than I would use, but the sentiment would generally be the same," Maura agreed. "I've found that the older I get, the more unsavory men become and the more appealing women are to me." Realizing what she'd just admitted, the blonde blushed profusely and looked down to her hands in her lap. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that so freely."

The confession felt like triumph to Jane. Clearing her throat, the brunette said, "You might think this is just the alcohol talking, but I kinda feel the same way, except…" She paused, realizing what she herself was about to confess.

"Except?" Maura looked expectantly at Jane across the table.

When the brunette finally spoke, her voice was low. "Except I'm not so sure men were ever appealing in the first place."

The medical examiner observed Jane closely, looking at the other woman's body language to tell her how to proceed after such an admission.

"I don't think I've ever said that outloud to another person."

The tone was sad, Maura immediately noted. "Why not?"

"I'm Catholic." The response was simple, and to Jane, it explained everything.

Maura sighed and took a sip of wine. "I will never understand how a religion could condemn love. How could it possibly be better to hate another person simply because they love someone of the same sex?"

Jane shrugged, taking a swig of beer. "But it's not like I'm even Catholic anymore, except at Easter and Christmas. Those are the only times I set foot inside a church every year."

"German writer Johann von Goethe once said, 'If God had wanted me otherwise, he would have created me otherwise'," Maura said quietly. She refrained from mentioning that despite these words, she believed in science first and foremost. Religion had essentially no place in her life.

"Is that your way of saying, 'It's okay to be gay, Jane'?"

"You may interpret that as you choose," Maura replied cryptically.

"Okay, well that's how I'm gonna take it, but this conversation's bringin' us down. Let's talk about something happy for New Year's." Jane glanced down at the watch on her right wrist. "We've got about 12 minutes to come up with some good resolutions. Whatcha got?"

"I made my list several weeks ago, actually," the doctor said. "One resolution I have - and don't laugh - is to limit myself to buying two pairs of shoes per month."

"Just two?" The detective raised an eyebrow.

Maura's eyes narrowed.

Jane grinned.

"Tell me one of yours."

"Try not to get so easily irritated with my mother. That'll probably be the hardest one to do," Jane replied. "What's another one?"

"Meditate every day. Sometimes I get so caught up in this new job that I forget to bring balance back to my life."

With a laugh, the detective said, "I'd probably never be able to do that. Sometimes it feels like my brain never stops. I'm always thinking about work, it seems."

"That should be one of your resolutions too. I could show you some techniques, if you'd like. Or you could join me for yoga," the blonde offered.

"Thanks, but I have no desire to twist myself into a pretzel." Jane laughed and sipped her beer.

A sigh. "Yoga does not require twisting oneself into a pretzel. If nothing else, it focuses a lot on meditation."

"Alright, well, I'll think about joining you sometime," Jane replied. At the excited look on the other woman's face, she added, "But don't get your hopes up."

"I shall hold no hope that you'll join me for a session sometime, but I can't guarantee that I won't ask you repeatedly until you accept. After all, I _do_ know where you work." Maura smiled sweetly. She knew that she was flirting with her colleague, but she couldn't seem to help herself. The other woman was simply fascinating and beautiful, and certainly much more intellectually stimulating than any potential romantic interests she'd met in several years. While getting romantically - or even just sexually - involved with Jane could and likely would complicate their lives, her chemistry with the homicide detective was unusually strong. Perhaps it was simply the alcohol, but she couldn't find it in herself to want to resist.

The suggestion evoked a gasp. "You _wouldn't!_ "

"Oh it's absolutely possible that I'd do such a thing." The medical examiner tried to hide her smile but failed. "But let's get back to _your_ resolutions. Tell me another of yours."

Biting her lip momentarily, Jane said, "Well, some of our conversation a few minutes ago made me think of one I hadn't considered before."

The statement brought more excitement for Maura that it likely should have.

"I think maybe I'll figure out something with my romantic life. Kiss someone or go on a date or something."

Maura's heart fluttered. She knew immediately what she wanted to do and it was _not_ the best idea. Still, the thought of it excited her. "With a woman?" the doctor asked, wishing for clarification.

With a slight smile, Jane met the other woman's eyes briefly and then looked at her beer. "Yeah. With a woman."

"I'm sure you'll have no trouble keeping that resolution, Detective."

"Maybe not, but honestly, I think you can call me Jane at this point," Jane replied with a small chuckle.

"Okay," the blonde agreed. "Jane."

When the bar patrons began the countdown and the clock struck midnight, the medical examiner and detective clinked their glasses across the table.

"Happy New Year," they said simultaneously.

After several seconds of eye contact, they both blushed and looked away.

* * *

"Detective-"

" _Jane_ ," the brunette emphasized.

" _Jane_ ," Maura echoed. "You didn't have to walk me to my car. It wasn't very far from the bar, but I appreciate you doing so."

"My job is to protect and serve," the detective replied. "I'm simply doing my duty."

The blonde smiled. "It's admirable. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

With a chuckle, Jane said, "I'll try not to." After a moment she asked, "Are you sure you're okay to drive?"

"I didn't have anything to drink beyond that third glass of wine just after midnight, and it's nearly 2am. I don't see any reason why I wouldn't be." Maura smiled. "Thank you for being concerned though."

Jane cleared her throat. "I had a great time tonight, Maura. I'm really glad Frankie ran into you and invited you out," she said quietly, stepping a little closer.

"Me too," the blonde said, nearly whispering, head tilting back just slightly to maintain eye contact.

"I know that certain things normally happen at midnight, but I was wondering-" Jane cleared her throat. "-would it be okay if I checked off something on my resolution list?"

Heart thumping wildly in her chest, Maura took a deep breath and nodded, trying to prepare herself.

"Yeah?"

"Yes," the medical examiner breathed out.

When Jane began to lean in, Maura thought her heart might actually explode. It was happening, and she wasn't the one initiating it, which meant their connection wasn't all in her head. Soft lips grazed her own, hesitantly at first, but after she quickly accepted the kiss, they became more insistent, more demanding.

Several seconds later, the intensity of the kiss forced Maura to pull back before she lost control. She breathed in deeply and opened her eyes to find dark ones observing her face carefully.

"This is probably a really bad idea," Jane said quietly.

"Possibly, yes," Maura agreed. "We do work together."

Again the detective leaned in for another kiss and Maura willingly welcomed it, despite her previous comment. "Happy New Year, Doctor Isles."

With a brief hum of satisfaction, Maura murmured, "Happy New Year, Detective Rizzoli."


End file.
